


let my cries touch their hearts

by enbyseven



Series: femslash february 2021 [1]
Category: Dragon Age: Origins
Genre: F/F, Femslash February, First Meetings, Gen, Pre-Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-07
Updated: 2021-02-07
Packaged: 2021-03-12 12:40:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,020
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29260617
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/enbyseven/pseuds/enbyseven
Summary: Still in mourning for her family, Maura Cousland doesn't take threats lightly, and has no time for mercy.Assitance from a Chantry sister might change things.Femslash February Prompt: Red.
Relationships: Female Cousland/Leliana (Dragon Age), Leliana/Female Warden (Dragon Age)
Series: femslash february 2021 [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2148765
Kudos: 8





	let my cries touch their hearts

**Author's Note:**

> _let the blade pass through the flesh,  
>  let my blood touch the ground,  
> let my cries touch their hearts. let mine be the last sacrifice._  
> \- andraste 7:12, the chant of light

"We surrender!"

If the sister hadn't stayed her hand, Maura knew that she would have slaughtered every last one of ~~Howe's~~ Loghain's men, without remorse.

There was one last man standing, the other two having been downed by her or one of her companions. Alistair was even more furious than she was about Loghain's betrayal, and Morrigan, it seemed, had no patience for those that would attack her. But Maura, the child of a Teyrn, the daughter of the Seawolf, should know better. 

_Mercy, Maura. We must always have mercy on our enemies, as the Maker teaches._

She pressed her blade against his throat. It was already red with the blood of his fellows, and Maura wasn't inclined to listen to her mother's lessons at the moment.

Her mother was dead, and it was men like this who were responsible.

"Wait!" The sister rushed towards Maura, laying her hand on her right arm, stopping her blade. "Stop! Don't kill him!"

Maura could feel her lips draw back in a parody of a smile.

"Why not?" she asked, the edge of her sword - the Cousland sword - digging into his neck. "He would have killed me."

"You do not kill an unarmed man. One who has surrendered."

Maura doubted that either Loghain or his men would afford her the same courtesy. She glanced over at the sister, the woman who had fought with them and showed so much skill. Her hair was almost as short as Maura's own, and red, but not the red of blood.

The red of sunset.

"Very well," she said, abruptly retrieving her weapon, leaving the man gasping on the floor, kneeling in a pool of blood. She leaned down, taking a handful of his hair in her fist, and forced him to look her in the eye. "You will take a message to Loghain, do you understand?"

"Y-yes! A message to Teyrn Loghain!"

"Good. You will tell him that the Grey Wardens know the truth, and that his betrayal will not stand. Say it back to me."

The man, more a boy, really, shook.

"The Grey Wardens know the truth. Loghain's betrayal will not stand. I'll tell him, I swear!"

She released him, and he stumbled to his feet, giving one last frightened look at the dead men, and left the tavern, not quite running.

Maura wiped the blade of her sword clean, sheathing it. The sister was still standing at her side.

"Thank you," she said quietly.

Maura shrugged.

"Loghain will find out that we are alive sooner or later," she said, uncomfortable with the attention. She had always loved beautiful women, and this sister was lovely, but -

_Iona's body lain out next to her bed, throat slashed open, her body covered in her own blood._

\- she was no longer the flirt she used to be.

"Pardon me for interfering, but I sit by and not help when you were attacked."

"You believe the Wardens are innocent, then?" Alistair asked.

The sister shrugged.

"I suppose, yes. I do not see how it would benefit you to betray King Maric."

"Ah, finally, someone who uses their mind," Morrigan spoke up in her caustic way. "What a novelty, in this town."

Bruce, her mabari, barked. Reflexively, Maura reached down to scratch him behind the ears. 

"I ought to introduce myself. I am Leliana, one of the lay sisters of the Chantry," the sister said, her Orlesian accent more pronounced than ever as she said her name. 

Remembering her manners, such as they were, Maura sketched a little bow. 

"I am Maura Cousland," she said shortly. "We are grateful for your interference."

Though they could have taken the three men on their own, Maura had been taught that one must always be gracious. And, it seemed, such lessons were difficult to forget, even in circumstances such as hers.

"Cousland?" Leliana repeated, and Maura sighed. She wasn't in the mood to be recognized for her name, not at the moment. "I see. But you are a Grey Warden? You will be battling the darkspawn, yes? You will need all the help you can get, to defeat the Blight. That is why I am coming with you."

Maura blinked. Of all the things that Sister Leliana could say, this was the last thing she expected.

"You are clearly a skilled fighter, and we would welcome any assistance," Maura said slowly. "But why do you wish to come with us? You'd be better off fleeing with the rest of them."

"The Maker told me to."

Maura distinctly heard Morrigan snort, and the sound of Alistair elbowing her, and his cry of pain as she pinched him in retaliation. Ignoring that, she frowned.

"What do you mean?" she asked, not wanting to be rude. Not yet. 

"I know this sounds absolutely insane! But it's true! I had a dream - a vision." Leliana said, and Maura knew that she believed what she was saying.

"More crazy? I thought we were full up," Alistair muttered. Morrigan stomped on his foot, and he whimpered.

"Look at the people here. They are lost in their despair, and this darkness, this chaos, will spread. The Maker doesn't want this! What you are doing is the Maker's work. Let me help!"

Maura closed her eyes, pinching the bridge of her nose. She wasn't sure she wanted a religious zealot to join them. Her faith had taken a hard hit as of late, and her relationship with the Maker was at an all-time low.

"If you wish to join us, who am I to refuse?" she said finally. "I can hardly turn down a skilled hand."

"Perhaps your skill was cracked worse than mother thought," Morrigan said.

For the first time since her parent's deaths, Maura smiled.

"Perhaps," she said with a wry grin. "But we can't defeat the Blight with only the three of us."

Bruce barked again.

"Pardon me, the four of us."

"Thank you! I promise, I will not let you down," Leliana said, smiling beatifically. 

Maura could feel her own smile widening. Perhaps this lay sister wouldn't be so bad.

Visions from the Maker or no.

**Author's Note:**

> for [femslash february 2021.](https://femslashfeb.tumblr.com/post/641624167804960768/any-world-any-fandom-ocs-however-you-art-or) day 1: red.  
> the conversation between Leliana and the Warden is borrowed from dragon age: origins.


End file.
